After the End
by Miss Tanglewood
Summary: Everything went wrong after the defeat of Galaxia. The shining walls of Crystal Tokyo were shattered. Now, Serenity must travel back in time to repair her mistakes where they began. Blends manga and anime. Features Older/Wiser!Usagi.
1. The End of the End

Author's Note: (Disclaimer applies to all chapters.) This is an original work of fiction, inspired by the Manga and Anime series Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. The Author lays no claim to the Manga or the Anime. That would be stupid.

The story below? Mine, mine, all mine. Thank you.

Rating: Mostly T, some M for violence

After the End

Chapter 0 : The End of the End

3992

Crystal Tokyo

_ The smoke was still rising. _

_ How could a city made of stone smolder on so long? _

_ The crystal spires were broken. The crystal palace lay in ruins. The crystal itself had vanished. The invaders had succeeded beyond imagining. _

_ There was no longer anything resembling a city in the city. There were only a few citizens still breathing free. Most of the survivors had been rounded up into the strange, tall ships and taken away. Only a few ships remained, their soldiers chasing down the few free folk. _

_ The Queen saw it all from the hill outside of town. She lay in the tall grass on the top, covered in a grey cloak, knowing she should run as well, but unable to stop watching her beloved city, unable to save them. She had cried at first, but now her tears would not come. Her wide blue eyes were dry and calm. She was waiting. _

_ Finally, the last of the soldiers returned to his ship. The ships flew away into the bleak black sky. The fires began to die, slowly receding and leaving only the shattered spires under the cold moonlight. _

_ The Queen rose, wrapping the dark cape around her slim shoulders, and began the long trek back to her ruined home. The wintry night wrapped her in its chilly arms as she traversed the broad white road that led to the embers of the great city. Her pale golden hair whipped around her, weaving into the fraying edges of the charcoal cape like night fading into day. _

_ The palace was dead. The walls were mostly gone, upper floors sliding loose into lower, everything balanced on slivers of silver, ready to fall at a breath. The clear crystal refracted the firelight through now-deadly spikes and crags. The rich furnishings of the palace had been heaped into bonfires; some of these were also pyres. _

_ The Queen walked cautiously through her unfamiliar home. The great audience chamber she stood in had held petitioners and petty nobles only a few days ago. Her friends and advisors had spoken to her only that morning. _

_ She tried not to look too closely at the burning heaps. She knew who she would find. Her four, her faithful four, were all gone now. Since the first hostility that took her own dear Ami, to this last, she had lost everyone. _

_She reached the throne at last. It was strangely intact. There were two things here that she needed. She slipped a hand gently under the throne, feeling for- ah! There. She removed a slim gold case and opened it carefully. Everything she needed. _

_ The Queen stepped down the slick crystal stairs into the darkness. A black stain slid down the stairs, dried blood or something worse, and the still-moist edges of it soiled the already grass-stained hem of her court gown. It had been white once. _

_ She followed the dim glow of the flames filtering through the crystals. She knew what she needed, but it had been so long since she'd been there for even a visit. It had to be here. They wouldn't have been able to destroy it, right? _

_ There. _

_ A tall, arching doorway, set into the grey stone of the underground room. Invisible to most eyes, but not to hers. The Queen stepped forwards, tracing her long fingers over the runes in the door. She opened the gold case she held and withdrew a tiny key, formed of gold and topped by a crystal orb that glimmered with a faint inner light. _

_The key slid into the lock. _

_The door opened. _

_ The Soldier of time was waiting. She stood beside the door to the past with her deadly key in hand and her expression, as always, was unreadable. _

_ "Your majesty." Her eyes were a deep, dangerous, wine-red. _

_ "Setsuna." The Queen met that unsettling gaze without flinching. "You know why I am here."_

_ The Soldier inclined her head. _

_ "Will you let me pass?" _

_ The Soldier shook her head slowly. "I cannot." _

_ The Queen was incredulous. "I don't understand," she said, "when you must know what's happened-!" The Queen's calm demeanor was rapidly melting. _

_ "I know what has happened, what will happen, and what must happen." The Soldier turned her head aside. "I also know what __must__ happen. This is not permitted." _

_ The Queen stood in silence for a long moment. A whispering wind blew softly through the empty plane of Time, stirring her unbound hair. _

_ "Setsuna, this is all wrong. The line must be unbroken." The Queen spoke truth and she knew it. "The prophecy- you know it better than I do. The line cannot break, or the world will end." _

_ "Do not- do __not__ quote prophecy to me. I was bred out of prophecy." The Soldier drew a ragged breath. She turned back to face the Queen, and her eyes were shining. Unshed tears strove to break free. She would not let them. "This must not happen- but I cannot let you pass." _

_ "Small Lady is-" The Queen could not finish. _

_ "I know it." The Soldier said. "The Prophecy is broken. But I cannot send you alive through the gate." She straightened. "You will have to kill me." _

_ The Queen stepped backward to catch herself. "What?" She squeaked, "have you gone mad? Everyone else I love is dead, and I must slay you as well?" _

_ "I will be alive again, if you succeed." The Soldier allowed herself a sad smile. "Let that motivate you. If I let you pass while I draw breath, I will be punished far more severely than you can imagine." _

_ The Queen considered this. Then she opened the slim golden case once more. Reaching into it, she withdrew a pink and gold wand, topped by a rosy crystal. She said nothing for moment more. Finally, she sighed and nodded. The wand in her hand shifted and became a golden sword. _

_ The Soldier did not move. _

_ The sword slid smoothly forwards, a single deft stroke. _

_ The Soldier fell. _

_ The door to the past fell to with a boom. _

_ Unnoticed beside the fallen Soldier, a small crystal-topped key lay, spattered with blood. _


	2. Going Off the Rails

After the End

Chapter 1: Going off the rails

1992

Tokyo

Queen Usagi Lady Serenity stood alone in the center of an empty street. All was quiet, and the moon above shone warmly upon her. She had done it. She had made it to her past. Now perhaps, she would have time to undo what she had done.

She looked down at her tattered court gown and grimaced. There was no telling what a mess her hair was. She raised the sword in her right hand and it changed back into the rose and gold wand, an adaptation of the technology used to create her original Disguise Pen.

When Small Lady (don't cry) had turned seventeen, Serenity had given her the original Disguise Pen, and Ami (bite your lip and be strong) had created the more powerful, less showy, Incognita Wand.

_"Here you are, all finished. My Incognita Wand." _

_ "Incognita? What's wrong with 'Disguise Wand'?" _

_ "This sounds more ...royal... I suppose..." _

_ "Ami-chan! I feel like it's smarter than me!"_

_ "Minako, it __is__ smarter than you..." _

_ "Rei-chan! You're horrible!"_

She stopped for a moment, holding the memory, and let herself breathe. She was going to make it all better. She was going to fix everything. Serenity breathed deep and let the moment pass.

She waved the wand over herself, imagining what she wanted, and rose light cascaded over her from the rose crystal.

The light faded quickly to reveal a girl who, for all mortal purposes, was Tsukino Usagi, a fourteen-year-old junior high school girl. Someone whose greatest tragedies in life were the terrible test scores she hid from her mother, not the premature deaths of her husband and daughter (hush now) as the mere preamble to the slaughter of her entire kingdom.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Okay.

Serenity made a curious gesture with one hand and the wand slid into what looked like nothing at all. It would return when she needed it.

She walked into the night. Even after two thousand years, she still remembered the way home.

Usagi woke from her dream with an unpleasant abruptness. There was a hand over her mouth. She squeaked, the sound muffled, and looked with wide eyes into a queerly familiar face.

"Keep quiet, me." The other her said in a low voice. Usagi nodded. The other her removed her hand.

"Who are you? Are you my evil twin? A robot duplicate? That dream again? A-"

The hand was back.

"Look, we'll never get anywhere if you can't keep still for two breaths." The other her sighed, sounding eerily like Usagi's mother. "I came back too early. You won't understand any of this."

Usagi shrugged her confusion.

"Okay, let's try this again."

Both Usagi and the other Usagi were completely silent for a moment.

"Good." The other her said. "Now, listen, this is more important than I know how to communicate."

Usagi clapped both of her own hands over her mouth and sat back. The other her perched on the footboard, demonstrating a sense of balance that Usagi found quite foreign.

"I am you. That much should be obvious. I come from the far, far distant future, by means too complex to explain- and you wouldn't really understand anyway." The other her gave Usagi a sympathetic look. "I first found out about time travel about a year from now, and I didn't understand a lick of it."

Usagi was stunned. Of course, she believed herself- how could she not, but on the other hand, what?

"Excuse me? Other me?" Usagi raised a hand as though she was in class. "Why are you here? Do you need to tell me the lottery numbers or something?"

The other her looked confused for a few seconds. "Lotto-? Oh, _that_. The lottery has, um, a different meaning in my time. No. Not that." She took a deep breath. "I'm here because your future is, well, messed up."

Usagi considered that for a moment, and then started to cry. "I got expelled for bad grades? I knew it!" The other her reached over and muffled her before the wail could begin.

"No, Usagi! Please, this is far more serious than school! Please just listen!" Finally, Usagi straightened and sniffled her way to a stop. Fortunately, this was nowhere near enough to rouse the household.

"The bad things happen a long, long time from now. Before that, a lot of good things happen, okay?" The other her looked a little frazzled, so Usagi just nodded and tried not to say anything. "In just a few days you become a superhero. Yes, like Sailor V-chan..."

The other her talked for a few minutes, outlining Usagi's life for the next few years, up through her marriage and her daughter. She was going to be famous, world-renowned, a princess, and a queen- and get the hottest guy around to marry her. Usagi was ready to burst from happiness, and she kept making excited squeaks every time the other her mentioned anything new.

"Now, here is the bad, Usagi. Are you ready?"

Usagi took a deep breath and nodded. "I can hardly believe any of this is real!" She whispered excitedly. "In fact, I'm pretty sure this is another dream..." She screwed up her face. "If you turn into an evil custard, I'm going to hit you with my pillow."

The other her just smiled sadly. "All right. Just don't wake your parents- the mental fix they'd give themselves would be impossible to sort out." She took a moment and plunged forwards. "A few years after Small Lady was born, we received a visit from a strange ambassador from another region of space. They seemed friendly, so we agreed to treat with them. We established a trade route, held diplomatic functions, and so on. The Sailor Team even visited their home world a few times.

"We were friends. We thought.

"A month after Small Lady turned thirteen, they finally struck at us for real. There had been rumors of trouble, little incidents, little signs that they didn't respect us. Then the plague came.

"It was transmitted all along their trade routes. Everything they sent us- and they sent a lot- was contaminated with a magical virus. It only struck humans- those born of Earth, to be precise. A quarter of the world died. My Mamo-chan was among them."

The other her had to stop talking for a moment, wiping at her eyes. Usagi leaned forwards and hugged herself impulsively. The other her recovered herself quickly.

"After Ami-chan discovered the source of the plague, we cut off contact with them and declared war. It was exactly what they wanted. They invaded our colonies, destroyed and enslaved our people, until only Earth remained, and then only Crystal Tokyo. Finally, a few hours ago, Crystal Tokyo was destroyed. Everyone I knew and everyone I was supposed to protect was dead or enslaved.

"I traveled back in time."

Serenity looked at her younger self. Usagi was all big eyes and big heart, innocent trust incarnate. She had missed being that person.

"Can we fix it?" Usagi asked. "Can we fix the future? I don't want that to happen."

"We can. That's the only reason I dared to come back." She rested her hands on Usagi's shoulders. "I have to ask a great thing of you, little me." Usagi's face was far more serious than it had ever been in her fourteen years.

"Anything."

"I have to become you."

"What? You want to steal my body?" Usagi looked disgusted.

"Not really. We'll both become each other. I'll be you and you'll be me, one person in one body, just past and future together. We'll ...merge..."

"Merge?"

"You'll be you. Just... with my memories and experience." Serenity didn't mention the cynicism or the despair.

"I'll be you and you'll be me." Usagi looked up. "We'll save everyone?"

"We'll save everyone."

"Okay."

Serenity leaned forwards into that trusting face and laid a gentle kiss on Usagi's innocent mouth. She briefly thought _I'm stealing my own first kiss_. Then she dissolved into lights. Usagi gasped and, in that sharp intake of breath, she inhaled the lights. Usagi lit from within until her glow rivaled the moon.

Then she collapsed.

_"Hey Odango Atama!" _

_ "These are special cookies!"_

_ "In the name of the moon- Sailormoon!"_

_ "No, I won't let you win- I'll save everyone!"_

_ "I remember..."_

_ "Mamo-chan, I love you." _

_ "I am Neo-Queen Serenity, ruler of this green planet." _

_ "We would be please to make an agreement with you, on our terms of course." _

_ "We must not listen to rumors." _

_ "Mamo-chan, can you hear me? Mamo-chan?" _

_ "Don't worry, Usagi-chan. Chibi-usa will be safe with me." _

_ "There were no survivors." _

_ "You will have to kill me." _

_ "I traveled back in time." _

_ "We'll save everyone?" _

"Usagi-chan! Usagi-chan! Please wake up!"

Serenity sat straight up in bed, her eyes darting rapidly around the room. Spying an unfamiliar shape, she grabbed the closest object and flung it furiously.

"GAH! Usagi! Get out of bed!"

Serenity looked at her mother in supreme embarrassment, trying to reconcile the sensation of humiliation at her overreaction with the sudden flood of relief at seeing her mother again and also with the sense that this was completely normal and that she could probably sleep another five minutes if she really wanted.

She got up. "Sorry mom!" She called after her retreating, fuming mother. She started getting dressed, relying on Usagi's normal routine while she tried to let her situation sink in.

She'd done it. The first step. She was back in her younger body, with her younger personality fused with her older self. She felt much more upbeat already. This body still held the _ginzuishou_, the illusion silver crystal, in part. She would have to retrieve the _njizuishou_ before she could use it, of course, but just being competent in battle would probably make the first stage of her plan ridiculously simple.

It was already fairly simple. Find her friends. Don't let them die. Destroy Beryl, Metallia, and all the rest, and make Earth safe for mankind. Then... well, then she'd have to deal with _them_.

Serenity clattered down the stairs, fully dressed, and grabbed her _bento_ and three pieces of toast. She was determined not to eat her lunch in class. She'd lived for over two thousand years, but the humiliation of her junior high school punishments still troubled her on occasion. She scraped jam over all three slices, stacked them up, and left the house, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before departing.

She ran briskly, unflustered, with purpose. She knew exactly what she was looking for- up ahead, around this bend- there! A tight ring of small boys surrounded a violet-black cat with a bandaged brow.

"Hey! Get away from that cat!" Serenity called, bearing down on them in a fury. The boys yelped and scattered, leaving only the cringing kitty. Serenity bent down close, moving gently. "Hey now, dear one," she cooed, "no need to fuss. You're okay now." Serenity gently stroked the cat, and got a gentle grip on her before peeling the bandage away. The cat hissed and tried to scratch.

"Luna!" Serenity snapped, holding the cat. "Don't you dare. I'm trying to help you." At the sound of her real name, Luna froze and looked up. Disbelief was clear on her tiny face.

Serenity picked her up. "Luna. Guardian of the Silver Millennium. Calm the hell down."

The little cat's jaw dropped. She still didn't speak, but the reaction was far too human for a 'real' cat.

"It's okay, Luna. I remember. I know exactly who I am." Serenity stood up, cradling the little cat. "I have to get to school, but if we're careful, we can talk on the way." After a few steps she looked down at the shocked kitty. "I know you can talk. Please say something."

"You know who you are?" Luna squeaked, voice rusty from disuse. "I don't remember you at all."

Serenity looked at her strangely. "Really?" She kept walking. "Okay, well I'm Sailormoon. The one who... right. I forgot you wouldn't remember me." (stupid) Serenity remembered there had been no Sailormoon during her mother's reign. "I'm Serenity." She said finally. It was true enough. (better not mention the future yet)

"Serenity? Can it really be you?" Luna was not going to be unshocked any time soon. "I can't believe I've found you so soon."

"Technically, I found you." Serenity couldn't resist. Luna had always been a little too superior. It was nice knowing things she didn't. "And really, you couldn't recognize this crazy hairdo?" (they don't have tact in the future) She smiled to take the sting off. "But I think you have something of mine."

"The _ginzuishou_?" Luna shook her head. "If you don't have it, I can't begin to think where it could be."

"No, I know where it- well, how to get it. I need my brooch."

"Very well, I can procure it for you." Luna paused. Her sharp little brain had caught up to something Serenity had said earlier. "How is it that you remember? Queen Serenity buried everyone's memories... they couldn't have resurfaced." Her eyes narrowed. "Prove you're who you say you are."

Serenity sighed. "I am the only child of Her Majesty Queen Serenity, Princess Usagi Lady Serenity. I was guarded by four soldiers of the four near planets; Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter. I loved the Prince of the Earth, Endymion, and died for that love. I killed myself with the stone sword to follow him into death. My mother saved our souls and sent all of us forwards in time. The Dark Kingdom who destroyed our home is back and trying to take over Earth again. I like ice skating, the color pink, and rabbits. You snore and talk in your sleep and have a crush on Artemis which you won't admit. _And_ you've seen Kunzite naked but you never told anyone... except me."

"I think... I think I believe you."

"You'd better." Serenity snorted, "Here we are." She turned and set the little cat down. "If you wait for me, I'll pass by this gate again once school is over." She turned to go inside.

"Wait, Serenity!" Luna quickly flipped into the air, pulling the brooch from her sub space pocket. "Here's the brooch. I didn't even know I had it until you mentioned it."

Serenity smiled. "Mother always was the sneaky one." She said enigmatically, and walked into the building.

_"It's beautiful! But what is it?" _

_ "You mean it's not familiar?" Serenity held out a golden brooch, laying it beside the one in Chibi-usa's tiny hand. _

_ "No way! Really? I get to be a senshi now?" Chibi-usa was nearly floating from glee. _

_ "I'm sending you back to the past to train, little one." Serenity smiled. Chibi-usa's warmth and curiosity would be the only thing that could save Hotaru. She tried not to think of the dangers inherent in the task she sent her daughter to accomplish. _

_ "That's amazing!" Chibi-usa grinned, and then thought of something. "But, I'll miss you, mommy." _

_ "You'll have Usagi, remember? She's mommy too."_

_ "No, she's Usagi. You're mommy." _

"Usagi! Put your lunch away and get out in the hall!" Serenity guiltily dropped her _onigiri_ back into the _bento_. She hadn't even noticed she was eating it until Haruna-sensei caught her at it. (Damn my teenage appetite) Blushing furiously, she stood up to leave the classroom.

"Usagi, before you leave us, would you care to answer the question? Who was the inventor of the printing press?"

"Gutenberg?" Serenity guessed, and walked out. She missed Haruna's stunned expression.

At the end of class, Haruna called her over. "Usagi, we need to talk." Serenity sat down, a serious expression on her face. "Usagi, I've graded this morning's pop quiz, and I noticed something very surprising- I think I need to call your mother."

Serenity bowed her head. She remembered this one. Haruna held up the paper. A vivid red '98%' was circled at the top of the page.

"I don't understand." Serenity said. She'd never scored this high- especially this early in her life.

"Neither do I." Haruna sighed. "Usagi, I'm going to assume this is a fluke- I'm not going to tell your mother- but don't let it happen again."

"What?"

"As you know, our school takes cheating very seriously, and-"

"_WHAT?"_ Serenity was livid. She snatched the paper away from Haruna. "I have never cheated in my _life_, Haruna-sensei!" She pulled herself up to her full (diminutive) height, and glared down at her seated instructor. "I will not mention this unjust accusation to my father- or anyone else- but do not dare accuse me again!"

"Then how-?" Haruna faltered.

"I knew the answers." Serenity met Haruna's gaze. "I thought you believed in all your students."

Serenity stormed out of the classroom in a red fury. She was halfway across the grounds before she realized how over the top her reaction had been. Haruna had never seen her score above a minimum passing grade. Haruna didn't know Usagi as anything but a lazy, hungry, sleepy teenager.

"Oops." She sighed. That had really been far too much. She hadn't counted on this reaction- but she knew mixing her current confidence with her juvenile self's impulsiveness could have unanticipated results. Serenity looked at the paper and shook her head. She crumpled it up and tossed it backwards towards a nearby trash bin.

"Hey! Watch it!"

She turned around very, very slowly, trying not to breathe.

It was him. Serenity just stared, eyes wide.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" Chiba Mamoru said, disgusted.

"Ah- Oh- Sorry, I'm sorry," Serenity gabbled. (Don't cry don't cry)

"Be more careful, Odango Atama." He turned and walked away.

"Usagi." Serenity said.

He half-turned back. "What?"

"I'm Tsukino Usagi. I'm sorry I hit you with my test." Serenity dashed a hand at her eyes, trying not to be obvious, but she was crying.

Mamoru walked closer. "Are you all right?"

She wasn't. He'd been dead for six years, and she had never really healed. "I'm fine, really." She sniffed, "it's nothing."

He caught her when she wobbled on her feet. Serenity just stood and sobbed into his chest. He still smelled like her Mamo-chan, her Endymion, but it wasn't really him- not yet. He wasn't ready to know who he was.

Eventually she cried herself out. Serenity wiped her eyes with her uniform sleeve. She knew they were red-rimmed now.

"I'm sorry." She looked up and stepped back.

"Do you need some help?" He looked very concerned. Young girls shouldn't cry like this.

Serenity shook her head. "Thank you. It's nothing you can help with." _Yet._ "I'm all right." She managed half a smile. Mamoru smiled back.

"Just be careful then." He said, and reached into his pocket. "Here- if you decide you do need anything." He pressed a card into her hand. Serenity watched him go.

Mamoru leaned on the wall, staring at the subway rails. His train would arrive soon. He was on his way to a night class on Physiology. Not that he was thinking about Physiology at the moment.

What had just happened? A teenage girl with dumplings on her head had hit him with a paper-based aerial attack. Then she had cried all over him for no apparent reason. Then he'd given her his card. Three things he'd never though would happen.

Why on earth had he given her his card? Mamoru had enough problems without some mentally unbalanced teenager calling up to weep at him. She was at least four years younger than him, and probably more than that. The weird hairstyle made her look very young and vulnerable. It was completely inappropriate. He shouldn't be thinking about her at all, especially not in this direction.

He resolved to ignore the entire incident. If he forgot about it, maybe she would too. It was working with his dreams, after all.

Serenity walked from Juuban to Osa-P Jewelry in silence, thinking in circles as she walked. She didn't know what to do about Mamoru. He was still unaware of their past lives together, not to mention their futures. She could keep him away for now, or she could try to tell him the truth about them. Serenity was quite sure he wouldn't believe her, even if she left out the time travel. It was all too implausible, even without the invaders from the future. She needed him, but he didn't need her. Not yet. She bit her lip and kept walking. She patted the card in her pocket. He would come to her eventually. She could wait. At least a little while.

She wasn't sure if coming back in time had changed anything yet. Would the timeline begin altering itself before she did anything major, or had her merge with her past self been enough to change everything else?

What about the Shintennou? Serenity knew who they were now. She had learned, years too late, that they had been Endymion's guards in the Silver Millennium. They had turned against him, or been turned. If she had known all this, she would never have killed them the first time around. She didn't know if they could be turned back, but she had to try. For Endymion's sake more than for theirs.

She didn't know how she should act. Should she be Serenity, or should she pretend to be Usagi? Her parents and Naru would certainly notice the difference if she went full-on Serenity in front of them. On the other hand, if she were Usagi in battle, it would be disastrous. Only dumb luck had saved her before, and she would not count on luck alone to save her now.

If the Dark Kingdom generals saw her acting like Serenity, looking like Serenity, they might make the connection. Usagi had been superficially very unlike her former self. Though their hearts were identical, Princess Serenity had been raised to be graceful and dignified, not a scapegrace crybaby. If Serenity acted too much like the Princess, they would recognize her. It would be too much to hope for stupid opponents. She pulled one blonde streamer over her should and looked at it with critical eyes. Maybe a disguise was in order? She hated the idea, but if it would help her cause...

Serenity heard shouting. She increased her pace. Osa-P was just ahead.

"That's right ladies, everything is on sale!" Mrs. Osaka was shouting into a megaphone in order to be heard above the crowd. Serenity smiled just slightly. Exactly as she remembered. But where was Naru?

"Today only, up to 95% off of anything! Anything at all! Diamonds, gold, pearls, rubies, and platinum!" The crowd rushed the store, and Mrs. Osaka just stood by and let them, smirking.

Serenity slipped into a nearby coffee stand and joined the queue, keeping her eyes on Osa-P. She reached the counter without looking at the clerk.

"Your order, miss?"

"Plain coffee." Serenity reached into her pocket for her allowance. She paid the clerk without looking away from the window, took her drink, and went to sit where she could see the store.

Hours passed. Serenity drank her coffee, and then another when one of the clerks bothered her. The crowd grew and shrank, grew and shrank, and finally dispersed. Serenity unfastened her Odango and let her hair drop around her shoulders, hiding her face. The sky grew dark as the last customer made her purchase. Serenity walked across the street and into the store.

She kept as far from the front of the store as she could. Mrs. Osaka was busy with the other customer, and did not look up. Her long hair was making her anonymous, she hoped. Finally, the other customer left the store. Serenity walked up to the counter, brooch hidden in her left hand.

"May I help you, young lady?" Of course, since this wasn't really Mrs. Osaka, she wouldn't recognize Usagi.

"Yes, I'm looking for a loose stone." Serenity answered. "A clear, round crystal." The disguised creature's eyes narrowed. "We have a few loose diamonds, but

nothing like that." She looked at Serenity with suspicion. "Perhaps a pearl?"

"No." Serenity said. "I'm looking for the _ginzuishou_."The creature's eye twitched once, and Serenity struck her across the face with her off hand. "If you don't have that, how about the energy you've stolen? MOON PRISM POWER, MAKE-UP!"

She transformed. The henshin wound her hair back up into its traditional style. The youma just stared. It had never seen a senshi before, but it had heard of them. It shed its disguise quickly.

Two warriors faced each other across the jewelry counter. Sailormoon flipped backwards quickly as the youma struck, missing her by microns.

"Fool! No one faces Morga and lives!" The youma snarled.

Sailormoon just smirked. "Everyone I've ever heard say that is dead now." She reached up and removed her tiara, preparing to throw it. The golden discus shape formed in her hand. She flung it, and Morga dodged. The tiara swung back around, and Sailormoon caught it easily. Morga's left arm was cut and bleeding black. The youma hissed in pain. Then she gestured.

Serenity was grabbed from behind. Two of the patrons from earlier in the day had snatched her arms and her hair. She was pinned by people she couldn't harm, but there would be no reasoning with their dead eyes. _Morga must have hidden them with glamour_. She thought ruefully. She should have paid better attention to who was entering and exiting -or not exiting- the store.

"No!" Luna had just run into the jewelry store in time to see Serenity captured. She dashed as only a cat can, and jumped at Morga, clawing at the youma. Morga threw her aside with contemptuous ease. Luna slid across the floor when she landed, and did not get up.

"Got you, little senshi." Morga cackled, moving closer and raising her clawed hands. Serenity glanced from side to side, trying to think. Morga drew near. "I will be rewarded for this, I think." The claws swung.

Serenity dropped, throwing all of her weight downwards. The two zombified girls fell over at the unexpected alteration to their equilibrium. The claws whistled harmlessly overhead. Serenity rolled to the side, breaking away from the girls. She came up in a half-crouch and screamed.

All of her rage at the Dark Kingdom went into the scream. All of her anger, her grief, and her torment. The garnet circles on her odango caught her cry and amplified it into a shockwave. The lurching customers all dropped to the ground. Morga clutched at her ears and screamed in return, though not with the same force.

Serenity picked up her tiara once more, and threw it in a precise arc. Morga was still dreaming of Excedrin when it took her.

Serenity looked around. Everyone was slowly rising to their feet. She dashed to Luna's side. "Luna?"

"I'm fine. Just stunned." Luna got up slowly. "Make sure the store's clean, and then we have to get out of here!"

"Right." Serenity dashed into the back of the store. In the door to the store room she saw Mrs. Osaka slowly getting to her feet. Naru lay a few feet away. Serenity watched until she knew they were both unharmed. As she heard the first note of sirens in the distance, she scooped up Luna and fled the scene.

"I think that went fairly well for your first battle, Princess." Luna looked as pleased as if she had fought the entire thing herself. Serenity just smiled.

"We need to make sure the enemy doesn't discover my real identity, Luna." She was sitting on her roof, still in senshi form. "Please don't call me Princess again until it is safe."

"Of course, Pri- er, Usagi." Luna looked rather discomfited.

She picked up the Incognita wand and looked at it critically. "I think perhaps a disguise of some sort is in order." Serenity pulled her hair down again, setting the red discs next to her. "Luna, if I cut my hair in this form, will it stay cut in my normal form?"

"Cut your hair-?"

Some victories would be easier than others, it seemed.


	3. Dark Blue

After the End

Chapter 2: Dark Blue

1992

Tokyo

Serenity stood before her mirror, arranging her hair on top of her head. The blonde locks tumbled from a massive bun and spilled over her shoulders. She frowned.

"This is not working." There was simply too much hair.

"I liked the braid better." Luna interjected from the rabbit-patterned bedspread.

Serenity turned the frown towards her feline advisor. "The braid was like a handle attached directly to my brain. Too easy for it to catch on things." She pulled out the pins and let her hair fall loose. It hung nearly to her knees. "I still think scissors are in order."

"I told you, your hair can't be cut." Luna said. "Now that you remember your past life, your body wants to return to the way it was then. Including your hair."

Serenity picked up the scissors from her desk. She'd agreed to try other methods to quiet her nearly-hysterical cat. Enough was enough. She grabbed a chunk of hair just above her elbows and chopped through it. Luna mewled in distress, shutting her eyes.

"There." Serenity said triumphantly, holding up the shorn hair. "Now what was that ab-"

The pain.

She fell to her knees, dropping the scissors. Clutched her head. Bit her lip to keep from screaming. She could feel it growing back. It was pulling energy from her to grow more swiftly, shooting out of her scalp like bamboo.

It stopped.

Serenity lowered her hands gingerly from her temples and took a cautious breath. "What in the seven murdering circles was that?"

"I did warn you." Luna answered, peeking with one eye. "It's longer than ever now."

"But _why_?" The hair was like medusa's coils now, like Lady Godiva as a twisting snare. Her hands were caught in it.

"It has to do with fates remembered."

"Is that a real thing, or just something you made up?"

Luna ignored this. "The part of your soul that traveled from the past remembers you as you were then. Every time you try to change your appearance, it reacts badly. And since you have probably more magical power than anyone else on Earth..."

"It has extra for hair-growing." Serenity sighed. "Great. Is there a way to shut it off? I mean, what if Mom tries to cut my hair or something?"

Luna just shrugged.

000

Jadeite had failed. This was new. He hadn't had any trouble gathering energy on Earth before. He had set up the store and the plan for doomed Morga, and gone off to play with his newest pet. No problem, just as planned. He'd done it a dozen times already. But he'd barely gotten the human strapped into place when he felt something strange. It was not unlike a bubble popping. A bubble of energy, carefully gathered. This was not good.

He was walking to Beryl's throne room. Walking because teleporting would leave him no time to think. He'd been sloppy. Too sloppy for her liking. Beryl's white-glove test of his technique would not come up clean this time.

The question, of course, was what to do next. Jadeite pondered possible plans for a few paces. Clearly, the plan should follow in three steps. Firstly, discover who or what had disrupted his plans. Secondly, discover if the person or persons had allies or other forms of back-up. Thirdly, capture or kill the person or persons. Ideally of course, he would torture this unknown until their tiny mind snapped and then reshape them into an all-too-willing slave. It was his specialty, and he enjoyed the opportunity to work.

By the time Jadeite reached the throne room, he had to pause for a full minute to control his smile.

000

_Pain. Everything is pain. How long have I been trapped here? I cannot see sunlight. I cannot hear the wind. Only the flicker of torches and the drip of water into these gray puddles. _

_ I will keep fighting. I have no weapons left, but a shield I keep inside my head. I have not lost yet. I know there are others. They will come for me._

_ If they do not come soon, I shall be lost. _

_ I shall die. _

_ I do not want to die. Not yet. _

000_  
_

"Yeah, the hospital sent me home in the afternoon. I was really only there for half a day. So it wasn't that serious." Naru was trying to pretend she didn't love being in the middle of a cluster of her classmates, but it was clear to Serenity how much she was enjoying herself. The energy drain didn't seem to have damaged her at all. She always had bounced back quickly. Serenity was no longer sure how many times the other Naru had been drained. She hoped the number would be lower this time.

She was at her desk, doodling and writing in French. None of the other students would understand that, and it gave her a way to work out her tangled plans. And to sketch badly-drawn images of herself with a pageboy. Once she'd decided to return to her customary odango style, it had become laughably simple to tame her blonde locks.

What would be next? In the past few days, she had battled familiar foes- a tarot reader, the pop-idol youma, the energy-stealing flowers, among others. Everything had gone according to plan, with one exception. Jadeite had not appeared at the radio station as she remembered. He hadn't been there when she arrived. She was unsure if her more competent combat style had scared him off or if it was just a subtle shift in the timeline based on her previous actions and the timing of her arrival. She had yet to encounter the _Shitennou._

In each incident, Serenity had arrived much earlier than in the previous timeline, and acted more decisively. As soon as she realized another youma had begun its wicked work, she would track it down and slay it. As a bonus, she now had much more time between assaults to play at the arcade. Serenity hadn't realized quite how much she missed having fun in the last few years of the invasion. She had not played an arcade game or eaten ice cream in years, even before things began to wind down to the end of her world.

Her hair, meanwhile, had resisted most of her attempts to change it. So far the best she'd been able to do was let it down after transforming. She didn't want Jadeite to notice the similarity between her and her senshi form. She was also concerned that no one else uncover her secret. It had been mostly luck that had saved her from exposure last time. Now, with her sudden alteration in behavior, it was entirely likely that some bright spark would make the connection.

She had tried to conceal her new maturity to some degree, but it was hard to be as spontaneous and carefree as she knew she should be. She had merged with Usagi, true, and to some degree she was Usagi, of course, but most of her soul was centuries old and had simply forgotten how to giggle and be unconcerned about the future.

She was too concerned about the future. About the past. About the present. Right now, she was concerned about the Dark Kingdom. If Jadeite never emerged from hiding, she would not be able to defeat him. She did not want to have to face down all four generals when she arrived at the North Pole.

Serenity consulted her notes. If she was correct, she'd be meeting one of her oldest friends very soon. If events unfolded as she anticipated, Ami should be transferring to Juuban within the week. Sailormercury had been dead for three years already when Serenity traveled back in time.

The first assault on the Grey Court had been unexpectedly one-sided. They had been lucky to lose only one senshi. The battles to follow had been far deadlier. Mars and Uranus had both fallen in the same year. All their strategies fell apart as soon as they began fighting. Somehow, the Grey Court had known everything they planned almost before they had planned it.

_"They sent the plague against us."_

_ "We cannot let this go on. We have to fight back." _

_ "Our spies have not been detected. We will strike without warning."_

_ "The goal of this first assault is to capture –or kill- Contesse Lilliana."_

_ "They don't look surprised to see us!" _

_ "Fall back! Fall back!" _

_ "Mercury, no!"_

_ "Did I... did I get her?" _

_ "The assault has failed, Your Majesty."_

It would be different this time. Serenity would make sure of that.

000

Jadeite was furious. His failures had been piling up at an alarming rate. He had to change that, and soon. If he didn't bring back more energy next time, he'd be a head shorter within moments of his return. Even his toys were not soothing his snarled nerves, and he couldn't seem to conjure an adequate plan to deal with his issues.

He had hidden a scrying crystal in the radio station that housed his most recent venture, and kept a minion stationed to watch the results. He had watched the arrival of the skirted warrior with a growing sense of doom. The speed with which she dispatched his creature did not help his mood.

A girl in a blue sailor fuku, with red bows and long blonde hair, loosely flowing. He'd seen this before. He'd thought that the problem had been solved. He had the evidence, after all.

Jadeite opened the door to his personal dungeon, a sequestered section of the main dungeons. The door was locked and only he held the key. Inside was a row of empty cells and a room with a wide assortment of deadly tools, facing the open bars of the cells. Any prisoners he had would have to watch as he tore the knowledge he desired from those who went under the knife.

At the end of the hall was another door, which led to a special cell. This one was occupied. Crumpled in a corner lay a teenage girl, blonde and blue-eyed. She wore a tattered blue sailor fuku with red bows.

They could have been twins.

000

Mizuno Ami walked back to her seat after introducing herself. A new school was always rather exciting, if quite intimidating. The teacher was passing out the history test. Ami rather liked history. It wasn't her favorite subject, but it was quite enjoyable in its own way.

She had it filled out and finished ten minutes ahead of everyone else.

The scores were posted by lunchtime.

"Second place?" She was shocked. Ami had never placed second. Not even in kindergarten.

"Wow, that new girl is smart." A voice behind her said, "she almost beat Tsukino-san."

"Don't you think it's weird how Tsukino's been doing so well all year?"

"Yeah, it's like she's had a brain transplant or something."

Ami frowned slightly. This was not right. She was always first. Not that she minded, of course. That would be silly. She turned around and ehaded back to the classroom. She'd just go ahead and study through lunch. Not that she minded, but it would be interesting to see if she could catch up to this girl.

000

Serenity was sitting on a low brick wall, watching the cram school down the street. Ami had walked into it after school, before Serenity could corner her. She was waiting for her to emerge. She knew their first meeting wouldn't be exactly identical to the one in her old timeline, but she hope it would at least be on the same terms. She wanted so desperately to have her old friend back, alive and unahrmed, and to see that this time, she remained that way.

"I don't know why you're so nervous." Luna remarked from her lap. "You know her already, after all."

"I know the old her." Serenity answered truthfully. "And she doesn't know the new me." Again, true. Why was she hiding the truth about herself from Luna? Serenity told herself it was because the cat wouldn't believe her, but she knew it was a lie. She didn't want to explain. She didn't want to share that horrible future with anyone.

Why?

Two reasons. First, the future was just that- the future. Changeable. Always in motion. Everything she did, everything she'd already done, was changing it. Telling Luna what had happened couldn't really help. Second, the future was her failure. Serenity didn't want to share that with anyone. Partly for her personal shame, and partly because it was just too horrible. She wanted a future where she was the only one who remembered that any of that had even happened.

If it was possible, she wanted to change everything bad that had happened, make it so it never existed. She wanted to save everyone from everything. She knew that wasn't going to be possible. The enemies would come. They were drawn to her dear blue jewel in the heavens like moths to a bug zapper. And, like the moths, she would make sure they did not venture too closely without consequences.

Serenity smirked at the mental image of Beryl with giant brown moth wings, electrocuted by blue light.

"She can't have changed that much." Luna said, reassuringly. "You haven't."

She had.

"I can't help worrying." Serenity said. "I think it's just something I have to do."

Luna sighed. Then she perked up. "I hear footsteps."

The cram school doors opened.

000

_The cell doors closed. _

_I am alone. _

_For now. _

_This chain feels looser. _

_My mind feels... looser. _

_Hurry._

000

"What a lovely kitty!" Ami exclaimed.

Luna preened, purring as Ami stroked her pointy ears.

"She's very tame." Serenity agreed. "I've had her for a very long time."

"Most cats I've seen are much more shy."Ami tickled Luna's chin. "I'm Mizuno Ami, by the way."

"Tsukino Usagi. You're the new girl at Juuban, right?"

"Tsukino?" Ami stiffened up. "The Tsukino Usagi with the high score in every subject?"

"...yes?" Serenity wasn't sure what the problem was.

"I have to go. I'm sorry, Tsukino-san." Ami turned and walked away.

000

Luna found Serenity in a park down the street, banging her hand into the trunk of a tall tree.

Smack "Stupid!"

Smack "Stupid!"

Smack "Stupid!"

Luna sat back and watched for a moment. This was going to take a while.

000

Ami frowned at her books. She'd left quite abruptly. She hadn't forgotten anything, but she felt bad about the encounter.

It wasn't really Tsukino-san's fault that she was doing better than Ami. In everything.

_Why was that?_

_Never mind, Ami. _

So why was it getting to her? Why couldn't she just be polite, be nice, study hard, all of that? Because she wasn't the best anymore, that was why. She had to be the best. Didn't she?

_And why do you have to be the best?_

Why indeed.

She should apologize. Ami sighed. She'd been rude, for no good reason. She'd have to make it up somehow.

That was when she noticed her cram school floppy disk was missing.

000

Ami was searching under her desk when she heard the footsteps approaching the classroom. She ducked behind the desk, a little ashamed of herself. She didn't want to explain to the teacher that she'd lost her disk. The door swung open.

Ami saw the teacher enter and give a cursory glance around the classroom. Seeing no one, the teacher smirked, an ugly expression. She held up one hand.

"Jadeite, first of the _Shitennou_, Jadeite, keeper of darkness, Jadeite, right hand of Her Majesty. I call you three times and ask that you appear."

There was a shimmer in the air. The wavering, illusory head of an arrogant blond man appeared in the air before her. Ami gasped, covering her mouth to hide the sound.

She saw the teacher report on energy collections. She saw the blond man smile. She saw the illusion vanish. And then she saw the teacher pull her arms into her chest and close her eyes... and the plastic disk on the floor under her desk activated, pulling energy away from her.

Ami collapsed as her knees gave way. The room was all sideways and going... fuzzy. She reached for the disk, but it was running away from her, laughing lightly.

000

Serenity walked into the cram school, Luna following her. The little black cat hadn't said a word about her outburst in the park. Wise Luna.

She climbed the stairs to the classroom, reaching out with her senses- there! The youma was inside, and so was Ami. Still alive.

Serenity raised her hand to the brooch at her neck. "Moon Prism Power...

000

The floor was harder than it looked. You'd think that all that wood would be a little softer than concrete. Ami felt more as through the floor had teamed up with all of her textbooks and jumped her in a dark alley. She blinked her eyes slowly open. Across the room was a war zone.

Her teacher was in a Mexican standoff with a girl Ami recognized instantly as Sailor V, and then corrected herself, it was the new heroine, Sailormoon. Her long blonde hair fell looosly to the ground behind her. The two were standing still, watching each other with deadly eyes. Behind the teacher, a great gash had been carved into the wall. Similarly, a scorch mark stood out on the white paint across from her.

Sailormoon held a glowing gold disk in one hand. She seemed to be waiting for something.

Ami started to sit up slowly, rubbing her head. She had a vague idea of getting to the door, or at least out of the way, but before she could, several crazy things happened at once.

First, a talking cat ran up to her and said, "Stay down!" jumping at her and knocking her back onto the very hard floor.

Second, the teacher shimmered and changed into something from one of Ami's more horrible dreams.

Then, she hit her head again, in the same place, and the (now rather blurry) monster jumped at Sailormoon, wielding an axe.

Ami clutched her temples and whimpered quietly. Why was there a monster in her cram school? (This did explain the complaints of 'evil' tests, but really!) Why was there a talking cat? Why any of it? There wasn't anything important about this cram school. It was exactly like every other cram school. Nondescript, boring, and not really a place anyone wanted to go.

Good place to hide monsters, said her right hemisphere, adding that it could really go for an aspirin about now.

Ami twisted so she was facing the cat, and heard from behind her a loud 'thunk', as if something sharp (say an axe) had just struck something hard (like the desk or the wall). She winced, but didn't look.  
"Cat!" She hissed, "hey cat!"

"Luna." The cat corrected her from where she lay pressed against the (very hard) floor.

"Can we get out of here?" Ami said in a whisper.

The cat shook her head. "Better to stay out of the- LEFT! LEFT!"

Ami rolled, adrenaline rushing. The axe took a chunk out of the (very hard) floor as the blade grazed her arm. She screamed and scrabbled at the floor, trying to get away. Her arm left little drops of blood on the wooden floor.

The heavy red hand of the creature grabbed a handful of her uniform blouse and hauled Ami up off the ground. It looked at her at eye level and cackled unkindly. The axe rose. Ami shut her eyes.

The axe flew through the air towards her.

The golden discus severed the hand that held Ami. She dropped. The axe ran past her head, slicing a few hairs.

Ami looked up at the handless monster. _Why didn't she cut off the axe?_ she wondered to herself.

Sailormoon looked a little worse for wear. The axe had grazed her several times in passing, and a large chunk of her golden hair was missing, just below her ears.

The monster charged her. Ami screamed again. _If only there were something useful I could do!_

A blue glow surrounded her. Everything was tinged in soft aquatic tones. The cat gasped as Sailormoon dodged the oncoming axe, losing another chunk of her locks.

"'ake 'is!" Luna shouted around a funny-looking wand in her mouth. Ami bent and gently took the wand. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She raised it up.

"Mercury Power, Make-up!"

Everything was blue. She was cold, then naked, then frozen, then clothed again- but such clothes! There wasn't time for a full inventory, but her legs felt quite drafty. She felt stronger, faster, and full of energy. She looked around. Sailormoon was facing the creature again. She didn't seem able to get away from it for long enough to aim her gold discus.

_There must be something I can do..._

There was. As soon as she reached for it, the knowledge was there. She moved quickly through a series of set gestures, and added the words. "SHABON SPRAY!"

A cloud of fog. She could make out the fight only dimly, but she had a feeling that others would be nearly blinded by her magic. _My magic. Now that's special._

The gold discus cut through the fog and the youma with equal ease.

Sailormoon picked her way around the ashes left by the disintegrating creature and picked up the disc from the floor. She crushed it in one gloved hand. There was a puff of white energy.

"There." She smiled and held out her hand. "Hello Sailormercury. It's very nice to see you again."

"Again?"

"Yes, we've met before. Not just in this life." Sailormoon closed her eyes and a soft wind rippled over her, changing her back into Tsukino Usagi. Her hair remained at its new, choppy length.

Ami stared.

And stared.

"I'm going to need an explanation." She said finally. "And maybe a chart." She looked down at herself and blushed. "And how do I do... what you just did?

000

000

AN- Two things!

1) I'm sorry this took me so long to write. I honestly didn't think it future reference, I will be posting a completion percentage tally on my profile, updated whenever I write more of the current chapter. I have my reasons to be busy, and I'm sure you understand. If you don't, nuts to you! :)

2) Thank you all for the reviews and the favorites! Feedback helps a story grow, and reviews make a writer want to write faster and more often! Please continue to review, even if it's just to say you liked it, it really does help.

3) Any author's notes I post in the future will be on my profile, to avoid cluttering up the chapters with obsolete explanations. Profile will be updated after the chapter posts, and it may take a few minutes, so don't freak.

4) I know I said two things, but I lied.


	4. The Sound of Bees in Winter

After the End

Chapter 3: The Sound of Bees in Winter

1992

Tokyo

"Okay, so if this chart is correct, there's at least… four more of us?" Ami indicated the mess of notes she'd been taking, with lines drawn to a crude sketch of the solar system.

Serenity leaned over and shook her head. "No, you've got Earth labeled too- there's no senshi here." Her blonde hair was tied back in a low ponytail with uneven ends.

"What? But why not?"

"Earth was ruled by the Elysians back then… their heir was Prince Endymion. Men can't be senshi, so there's no Earth senshi."

"If he was reborn with the rest of us, I suppose that's true…" Ami looked thoughtful.

"He was reborn." Serenity answered firmly. "I… saw him." She bit her lip. She hadn't seen Mamoru since that first day at school. She'd avoided the arcade and anywhere else she'd thought he might go. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she was a little afraid of him. Even now that she and Ami had become friends, just like before, she wasn't confident in her ability to make things turn out the same way. Especially after she'd cried all over him and then disappeared.

What if he rejected her? She wasn't the same girl he'd fallen in love with. Maybe he wouldn't want her with this extra maturity. Maybe he'd say she was boring, too staid and stolid. He couldn't know her grave attitude was brought on by actual graves.

She hadn't told Ami of how the Silver Millennium ended, much less the tale of her time-travel and body-melding. Partly because it was simply too much to absorb, and partly because she now hoped to avoid that timeline altogether. If she told Ami what had happened, it would lock her flexible mind into a preset path, an expectation of how things would be. It was lucky for Serenity that she had so many years between her timelines. She remembered this era in blurs and bits more than in whole days and hours. She could recall bits of conversation, parts of battles, a few key events, but nothing very linear. She knew, for example, that the buses should start to vanish from Hikawa Jinja any day now, but she did not recall when it began, or if there should be another battle between now and then.

Serenity also knew that her actions would be having repercussions on the current timeline. The enemy could change their plan based upon her own. Why they had followed their original strategy for so long had her a bit confused, and more than a little worried. It didn't fit. She knew they were smarter than this, weren't they?

_Of__course,__they__were__defeated__by__five__teenagers__last__time._ Serenity reminded herself. Maybe the ripples would change things, but nothing seemed different yet, apart from herself. It was unsettling, like snow in summer.

She'd just have to be careful.

000

Ami took a walk with Luna later that day, carrying the small black cat on her shoulder. They weren't going anywhere in particular; Ami just wanted to learn more about her new powers and the associate responsibilities. She kept away from the busier areas of the city, trying to go in a more park-ward direction. She did not, of course, want anyone noticing her conversation with the cat. Ami had noticed in the past few days that people tended to ignore strange things, pretend they hadn't happened, and forget them quickly. In general, the stranger the thing, the less likely it was that anything would be done about it. Or so her findings led her to believe.

"I suppose I'll start at the beginning then?" Luna had a slight accent that Ami couldn't place. It might have been just the effort of speaking Japanese through a cat's mouth. Ami wasn't sure.

"If you would please." Ami said, "I don't remember anything of it. I suppose I might recall more in time… but nothing so far."

"A thousand years ago, there was a magical kingdom on the moon."

"What did they breathe?"

"Well, it was different then- the moon had an atmosphere. There were lakes and forests, gardens and parks and everything- and the one great city. It was all ruled by Princess Serenity's mother, Queen Serenity."

_That__must__have__been__confusing._Ami thought, making a mental note to always apply the proper title when talking about either Serenity.

"You were one of the Princess's four guardians, the Princess Mercury."

"Excuse me, but would that mean I was from Mercury then?"

"Yes, from the castle there. All the planets were habitable then, to a greater or lesser degree." Luna headed off Ami's inevitable question. "The other four guardians came from the planets Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, as your chart delineated. "

"What about the other planets?" Ami asked, wondering why she hadn't thought of that before.

"They all had guardian senshi as well, but those were tasked with guarding the Solar System and the Silver Millennium, not the Princess. Now, to continue; the Queen was a wise and just ruler, and the Solar System was at peace. It was then that the trouble began."

Ami listened in fascinated wonder as Luna recounted all she could recall of the ancient civilization's collapse and the romance between the Earth and the Moon.

"It was rather fitting, I suppose, that the rest of you found love on Earth as well, though it didn't end well."

"What do you mean?"

"The _Shitennou_, Endymion's four guardians. The four of you meant to announce your betrothals the day that Serenity and Endymion announced theirs, but you never had the chance. Beryl, princess of Earth, turned them against us with dark magic. Her ally, Metallia, granted her greater power than any of us were prepared to face. "

"She could twist their minds so much that they would strike against the ones they loved?" Ami was shocked. How could they stand against such powers?

"They still are." Luna answered gravely. "The _Shitennou_ still serve Beryl; Jadeite is one of them."

000

_This can't be happening… it just can't._

_I can't… _

_000 _

"-and after that, there was nothing left to do. Serenity sent my compatriot and I to Earth, to await the rebirth of the Princess and her Court."

They were walking past a serene-looking shrine. Ami looked over at it absently, listening to Luna explain the tragic end of the Silver Millennium. The swooping lines of the traditional architecture looked very solid to her. Had she really done all of these things in her past? Loved, fought, …died? It seemed so very unreal, and yet she had to believe it. There was a talking cat telling her all of this, and all of the other impossible things that had happened lent support to the idea that something even more impossible could have begun it.

It was more than just logic that led Ami to trust Luna's words. She'd had the oddest sense of déjà vu while the little cat was talking. Almost as if she'd heard the story before. Or lived it. It wasn't just that the events felt familiar. Several times, Ami found herself predicting what would happen next in the tale, and then being proven right.

There were also the ..other thoughts.. that had sprung up, unbidden, whenever mention was made of the _Shitennou,_Zoicite. Thoughts that had no basis in Luna's story. Thoughts that had no business in Ami's innocent mind. She'd never seen Zoicite. Oh, but she could picture him… Impulsive, quick-witted, and more than a touch licentious- the perfect mirror for the proper Princess Mercury. She shuddered suddenly, and not in fear.

"I think I need to sit down." Ami said softly.

"Of course, Ami-san."

Ami wandered quietly onto the temple grounds. Without really thinking about it, she walked up the steps towards the temple bell.

"Get out of here!"

Ami looked up in startled bewilderment. A tall young _miko_ was glowering at her, hands on hips, and violet eyes flashing.

"I'm sorry!" Ami gabbled, backing up. "I didn't mean to- ah!" She backed a little too far and lost her footing, starting to fall backwards. Visions of her bones all broken flashed through her mind in a split second. Then a strong, slender hand grasped her wrist, hauling her forwards. Ami stumbled three steps as the _miko_ pulled with all her weight and then collapsed. She glared up at Ami from the concrete ground. Luna mrowled her concern.

"Be more careful!" The _miko_ growled. "What are you doing up here with your head in the clouds?"

"I'm sorry!" Ami helped the _miko_ to her feet. "I just… I got some unsettling news. I was still absorbed in what I just learned. I'm sorry."

"I thought… well, I was wrong. I'm sorry too." The _miko_ straightened her red _hakama_ and smiled crookedly. "I'm Hino Rei, by the way. It's very nice to meet you."

"I'm Mizuno Ami. It's nice to meet you as well." Ami looked around. "It's a lovely shrine, Hino-san."

"It was a lovely shrine anyway." Rei said disconsolately. "We may have to shut down, what with the disappearances and all." She picked up a broom and began sweeping as she explained. "The past few days, we've been noticing that people who come here just vanish. It's been subtle, so it may have been happening for a while, but it's always the same story. They come here first, and then they get on the bus… and they never get back off."

"It sounds like an urban legend." Ami said, thinking. "How did you find out about it?"

"Well after this had happened a few times, Missing Persons or somebody put it together and decided we were behind it." Rei growled, sweeping particularly viciously. "They were here yesterday, investigating- They asked everyone here. Me, Grandpa, and even Jedou." She sighed. "The only people here who haven't been interrogated are the Shrine Crows."

"So when you saw me…"

"I thought we were getting tourists or something. I know we will eventually… the story is just too weird for the curious to pass up."

"Indeed." Ami frowned. "Maybe Sailormoon will solve the mystery?" She smiled, and glanced significantly at Luna, who had taken up a napping position on the wall. The cat didn't react in the slightest.

"As long as someone solves it…"

"Hino-san!" A male voice called from inside. The door opened and a tall blonde man walked out. "Grandpa needs more O-mamori for this- " He stopped, staring at Ami. She was staring right back.

Jadeite.

000

_…__maybe__I__can__…_

_ Yes… this will do just fine… I can get away-_

_ Who's there? _

_ You? No!_

000

Luna darted behind Rei's voluminous _hakama_, trying to conceal herself. Jadeite would certainly recognize her as well as Ami, and she wanted to buy the petite senshi as much time as possible. Whatever the effect of the thousand-year sleep on Jadeite, Luna doubted it would be detrimental to the despicably cunning general's tactical abilities or magical strength. _That__would__be__far__too__convenient._

Ami, meanwhile, was backing away slowly, eyes on Jadeite like a cornered cat watching a wild dog. One hand was in her skirt pocket.

"Jedou? Mizuno-san?" Rei looked between them, confused. "What's going on?"

"That girl is a thief!" Jadeite snapped, pointing in accusation.

"Liar!" Ami gasped, shocked. "He's not even human!" She caught her foot on the step again, and half-stumbled, catching herself. "He's behind the att-"

Jadeite moved a hand in the instant Ami stumbled, and a bolt of white energy struck her, knocking her backwards. She fell down the hard stone steps and lay in a heap at the bottom, unmoving.

The bus pulled up to the stop.

"You evil bastard!" Rei snarled, and tackled Jadeite. He threw her over one arm, knocking her down the stairs. Luna rushed after her.

"I'll deal with you in time…" Jadeite growled. "Kigaan!" The bus door opened, and a woman with a strangely evil face emerged. The bus itself was empty.

"Master?"

"Take them to the 'bus stop'. I'll be by presently."Jadeite walked off. Kigaan nodded, and bending, struck Rei sharply on the temple as she started to rise. Rei slumped, unconscious. Kigaan, displaying unusual strength, lifted both girls and dumped them on the floor of the bus. Luna only just managed to leap inside before the door closed. Kigaan reached for the auto-pilot control, and having set it, stepped out of the bus. The door slid shut again. She tapped the bus's side twice, and it started, then drove into a wavering black portal. Kigaan then struck both hands sharply together, and a second bus, identical to the first, appeared in the same place. She climbed inside.

The entire incident had taken only a few minutes. No one seemed to have noticed a thing. Soon, people began to board the bus.

000

Serenity made a quick addition to her timeline. She sat back and surveyed the result with pride. It was written over four pages of her English notebook, in English, hopefully disguising it enough that no one would find it; or at least that they wouldn't realize what they had found.

The completed timeline showed the event of the next few months and the past several weeks as they had previously happened, written out and organized to the best guesses Serenity could make from her distant recollections.

Written alongside in ink were the events of the new timeline, as far as Serenity knew they had already happened. According to her predictions based on the old timeline, the next event should be the vanishing buses at Hikawa Jinja. Should be.

Serenity reminded herself once more that prior events did not predict future events- just because it seemed a thing should happen the same way it always had, didn't mean that it would. She recalled an incident with Chibi-Usa, when her daughter discovered climbing, the kitchen cupboards, and the joys of painting with food, all in the same afternoon. Her nurse hadn't expected Chibi-Usa to get into any trouble in the kitchen, since the lower cabinets were all locked- she hadn't taken into account the things that Chibi-Usa could do and simply hadn't yet tried.

On another page, Serenity began a list of the Dark Kingdom's known skills and tactics.

_Energy;__draining__&__collecting_

_ Collection of nijizuishou_

_ Targeting of lonely individuals_

_ Mind control/brainwashing_

She paused on the last item, remembering the pain and fear of having her Mamoru turn against her- nearly kill her. That couldn't happen again. She had to-

She had to what?

_I__have__to__talk__to__him._

Serenity folded up her notes and shoved them under her bed, tossing a pair of slippers on top of them. She noted absently that the room was a bit untidy. Maybe she should clean it. After she saved the world, perhaps?

She left.

000

_ Heh heheh heheh… _

_ They're not going to see this one coming. _

000

The doorplate read 'Chiba Mamoru'. Serenity stood before it, hand raised to knock, frozen. She couldn't do it. She didn't have the words. What could she say to him that wouldn't sound insane? What, that he'd believe?

_"__Hi,__I__'__m__your__wife.__I__'__m__from__a__future__where__everyone__is__dead.__Wanna__hang__out?__" _

No.

Better to leave it for another day, perhaps. Anything would be better than-

Driving him away?

Getting him involved?

He'd be involved anyway, in time. She was afraid of going wrong. There wouldn't be another redo after this. She couldn't just keep grabbing the key and re-ordering time every time she stubbed a toe.

The door swung inward, and a startled Mamoru nearly collided with Serenity.

"Woah now!"

"I'm sorry! " Serenity gabbled, backing away.

"No, it's my fault, barging out like that- are you okay?"

"Fine, please don't worry about it." The words were running away with her.

"Wait a second- don't I know you?"

_Yes,__I__'__m__the__crazy__girl__who__cried__all__over__you._

"I don't think-"

"You're the mystery girl!" Mamoru exclaimed, "I was worried about you, dango-head." He paused. "I guess it's not dango-head now. You get hungry?" He gestured to her new haircut, the uneven blonde locks.

"In a way." Serenity blushed. This had been a bad idea.

"So why are you here?"

"I- "

Light.

Red.

Searing.

Mamoru screamed.

He fell to the ground.

Vanished.

Gone.

000

The bus was floating in blackness. Outside the windows, Ami could see only a featureless grey plain. It seemed to stretch on forever. She shivered. No sun, no sky, no birds. Just empty, grey night. She sincerely hoped that no one actually lived here, although she was beginning to suspect that this might actually be the Dark Kingdom Luna had spoken of.

"Wow, someone really specialized in gloomy décor." Rei said from behind her. Ami

turned to find the _miko_ staring calmly out of the bus window. Her pale brow furrowed over her odd violet eyes. "Where are we?" Rei asked, and Ami could detect an edge of steel to her calm.

Ami just shook her head. "I wish I knew," she replied, "but I really have no good ideas." _I__wish__Usagi__were__here._ Wishing would, of course, do no good.

The bus slowly ground to a halt next to a line of identical buses. The other passengers had all collapsed, from fear or shock, or maybe energy drain. Ami wasn't sure. Rei seemed unaffected, but a _miko_ would have better spiritual defenses than ordinary people, or so Ami theorized.

"I'm getting off this nightmare bus." Rei growled, heading for the door.

"Wait!" Ami didn't dare raise her voice too much, but Rei stopped. "Whatever's out there, I think we need to go together" Ami explained, and she pulled out her henshin wand. "I hope I can trust you to keep this a secret." She added quietly, and then transformed.

Rei quirked an eyebrow. "You're one of them? The new superheroes?" Ami just nodded. Rei grinned. "So, who designed the costumes? Your creepy uncle?"

"Oh, never mind that, let's go." Ami blushed.

000

Serenity stared into the door in disbelief, and the beginnings of despair. Mamoru was gone. This could mean only one thing. The bus had gone through the portal. She turned and started running. The portal must be closed by now, but maybe-

There, Hikawa Jinja. There- the bus, vanishing. There was no way she could get through until another bus vanished- and by then, the others were sure to be dead, or worse. Rei didn't have her henshin wand, and if things proceeded as Serenity recalled they did, Jadeite would be waiting on the other side of the closed portal.

Where it led precisely was something Serenity had never quite worked out. It could be a pocket dimension, a small quantum burp in the fabric of reality, or perhaps a portion of the Dark Kingdom base at the North Pole. Or it could just be a particularly gloomy cave. She didn't know. The important thing was that she had no way of getting there. They would have to fight without her.

Her friends were on their own, at least for now.


	5. That Which Lasts an Hour

After the End

Chapter 4: That Which Lasts An Hour

1992

Tokyo

"Okay, we're out of the bus." Rei looked around. "Now what?" There didn't seem to be anything else to see, apart from a few empty-looking cream buses.

Sailormercury frowned at the empty grey plain. "I'm a little confused," She admitted, "usually Sailormoon is here with me… she understands what we're doing more completely than I do."

"So you're stuck, huh?" Rei replied, not unkindly. She nodded towards the empty buses. "Maybe we should start there?" Mercury nodded. They took a few steps towards the buses before it happened.

A line of golden light stabbed into the grey murk. Mercury shrieked in surprise, stumbling back as it whizzed past her head and scored a burnt line into the grey plain before her. She spun, eyes darting wildly. Behind her, Rei reached into one capacious sleeve for a few paper _ofuda_, moving quickly away from the damaged area.

The second attack came quickly; a dark figure flew out of the shadows between two of the abandoned buses, feet flying, and knocked Sailormercury to the ground.

Rei darted forwards and tackled the stranger, shouting the long chant of her protective charm as she ran. The _ofuda_ flew out, but barely fazed the newcomer. She tossed Rei aside and rolled to her feet.

A sailor senshi. She looked like one, but warped and twisted. Her costume blended black and orange, and there were cut-out sections that changed the overall theme from schoolgirl warrior to bordello warrior. Rei spared a passing moment to wonder how the leggy blonde managed to walk in the strappy spiked heels she wore, much less fight in them. Then she had to roll quickly to one side to avoid another laser beam.

"Nightmare Beam!" shouted the blonde girl, producing another laser that arced through the space left behind as Mercury dodged.

"Shabon Spray!" countered Sailormercury. The fog hid each girl from the other two.

Rei backed up slowly until she found herself near one of the buses. She fought to catch her breath and calm herself. She had to get out of here, get help somehow- or stop this blonde menace. She wasn't sure which was a better idea. Rei knew she had no way of escaping on her own, but by the same token, she was pretty sure she couldn't stand up to someone with the kind of superpowers demonstrated by their antagonist.

That was when she heard the scream.

000

"Usagi?" Serenity glanced downward from her contemplation of the empty sky to find Luna regarding her with a worried expression.

"I'm too late." Serenity said. "The gate's closed." She dropped to one knee and picked Luna up. "If we had the _ginzuishou, _maybe I could do something, but without it-"

"We have to try."

"If I knew where the gate went, maybe." Serenity chewed on her lip, thinking. "It has to be a pocket dimension. If it were connected to the Dark Kingdom directly, there would be infighting over the …resources…" No _youma_ could resist so tasty a prize as a bus full of unconscious humans.

"Can I help you, young lady?" Serenity turned, looked up.

Jadeite.

It was his human disguise, deceptively normal-looking as usual. She froze. Did he recognize her?

000

Everything was white.

The pain was like fire, burning his eyes out of their sockets, melting his skin, reshaping him. The white light consumed everything.

Blessed darkness took the pain and softened it, shaped it. His weapons, his armor, created from his anguish.

He felt the ground beneath his feet once again. He opened his eyes, looking through the mask. Everything was white. A soft fog shrouded the wherever-he-was. He put out a hand and touched cold, slightly wet metal. A bus? The wherever-he-was was _odd_. The grey ground seemed unstable. His footprint slid away when he lifted one foot.

He looked around again, adjusting his grip on his cane. He was holding a cane. _Huh_. He hoped this was a dream.

_It has to be a dream. Princess bun-head showing up at your door, even minus her buns, doesn't make you randomly teleport places. _Okay, so if it _was_ a dream, that meant his options were pretty much limitless. He could leap tall buildings, rescue damsels, and probably shoot lasers form his eyes or something.

_Cool._

He took a few cautious steps forward. There was, after all, the possiblity that he wasn't dreaming, and he really had been teleported who-knew-how-far to a very boring, pea-soup landscape. In which case, maybe he should just concentrate on getting back home and into something other than -_a tuxedo?-_ someone's idea of a joke.

Then, the scream split the mist.

000

The crystal key didn't look right against her pale grey skin. It was too …delicate. If a key could be frilly, this one was.

It didn't matter, of course. The frills were nothing compared to what the tiny key meant.

Victory.

Unsurpassed, unstoppable, utter.

Victory.

000

Rei ran towards the scream, her _geta_ clattering against the odd grey ground. She tried to stop herself, she knew she was just running towards the person best-suited to kill her, but what else could she do? Ami or Sailormercury, Rei didn't quite trust the blue-haired girl to take care of herself. She just didn't seem certain of her role. _Damn__Sailormoon__for__not__being__here_! Rei knew the thoguht was irrational. She was still angry.

The first laser went hissing past her ear, and she jerked away from it, still running.

The dark senshi followed it, a strong gloved fist striking Rei a glancing blow that still knocked her over. Rei stared up at the scandalous-looking senshi. The golden energy began to gather again.

_I__wish__I__were__one__of__them!__I__wish__I__were__a__senshi,__so__I__wouldn__'__t__have__to__die__here!_

000

"Miss? Is there something you need?" Jadeite looked so concerned Serenity almost forgot who she was looking at. Almost.

"I'm sorry, I was looking for my friends." She blinked her eyes, opening them wider than normal. "They were supposed to take the bus and meet me here…" She trailed off, looking down. She wished she could blush on cue. _Just__act__as__little__like__your__normal__self__as__possible.__Do__what__you__would__have__done__when__you__were__Usagi._ _Think__like__Usagi._

"I'm sure they were just distracted by something." Jadeite said. "Why don't you wait for them here? I have other errands to attend to, but you'll be fine here at the shrine."

_You__'__d__love__it__if__I__let__you__get__back__to__your__ '__errands__'__,__wouldn__'__t__you?__Go__and__kill__my__friends?__Oh,__I__think__not._

"Saa*- I'm not really sure. I'm not familiar with this part of town and I think maybe I'm lost." Serenity looked up at him; from her height, that was easy. "Won't you help me, please?"

_Every__second__I__keep__you__here__is__one__that__I__keep__you__away__from__them.__If__you__don__'__t__help__me__… _

"I really wish I could…." Jadeite looked a little rattled, a little annoyed, and a little unsure. Years of ruling over the most vicious beasts in the galaxy hadn't prepared him for dealing with a clingy teenage girl. "I've got to go though, take care of some, ah, things."

_You__asked__for__it!_

"You're going to leave me here? All alone? I don't- I can't-" She sniffled. She whimpered. And then, she dropped to her knees and gave out the full-on, patented, Usagi-class _wail__of__doom._

*note: 'saa' means 'well' in Japanese, sort of. It's used here as the kind of cutesy whine that a certain type of 'cute girl' will make in Japanese shows/manga. (There's a lot of these…) I'm using it here to emphasize how 'cutesy' Serenity is being.

000

_So,__this__is__what__it__feels__like__to__be__a__casualty._Sailormercury thought. She lay crumpled on the grey plain, curled around her wound. The last strike of the laser beams had pierced her side, searing a narrow hole through her abdomen. The edges of the hole in her _fuku_ were singed, and the wound itself had cauterized. She wasn't in immediate danger, but it hurt too much for her to move.

The white mist from her bubble spell still covered the plain. If she could make her way away from where she was, she might be able to stay hidden from the dark senshi long enough to- well, what? _All__I__know__how__to__do__is__make__bubbles.__I__can__'__t__stop__her__on__my__own._Not with her magic, anyway. Sailormercury knew her combat skills weren't going to be much help here. The most she could do would be to dodge.

_There__is__always__a__way.__Think__it__out,__Ami._She admonished herself. The idea that all problems have solutions was very dear to Ami. She believed there was an answer to every question.

_You__have__other__resources__than__violence._

Of course she did. So, Sailormercury thought. This woman wasn't a _youma_. She was obviously human. She wasn't a _Shitennou_. So, unless she was a completely new creation, which was possible, she had to be someone else from the Silver Millennium. That meant she didn't just _look_ like a senshi, she _was_ a senshi. So she had to be Sailorjupiter or Sailorvenus or Sailormars.

Ami knew that Jupiter and Mars granted their senshi purely elemental powers, from what Luna had told her. This woman had been using laser beams, so if she was one of the three missing senshi, she had to be Sailorvenus.

If Sailormercury was wrong and the dark senshi wasn't a senshi, there were too many variables for her to plan. But if she was right… well, it was time to test her hypothesis.

She heard running feet, coming towards her from the mist. She started to climb to her feet, holding her side. Her blue boots wobbled under her as she stood. Sailormercury braced herself to dodge.

Wait. That wasn't the dark senshi.

"Why are you wearing a tuxedo?" Sailormercury asked blearily.

000

_I__'__m__trapped__in__a__mist__that__screams__and__then__creates__schoolgirls?_He shook his head, trying to clear it. The blue girl didn't disappear. So, probably real. Or, again, he was dreaming. _At__least__this__dream__is__interesting._ Then he noticed she was holding her side.

"Are you hurt? That scream I heard…"

She nodded, grimacing. "It's not bleeding." She moved her hand slightly to show a neat puncture with scorched edges. "It just …hurts."

"Lean on me." He offered an arm. The blue girl took it.

"Thank you. I don't know who you are, but this place isn't safe."

"Demonstrably." He started to lead her back towards the buses. "Who wounded you?"

"There's a blonde woman, dressed like me, and a friend- she's a priestess of sorts." The blue girl stumbled over the grey ground, wincing. They paused for a moment as she caught her breath and balance. "I'm A- er- Sailormercury." She said after a few more steps. "I don't think we should use our real names here."

"In that case, I guess I'm… um. Tuxedo Man?"

"Why not Tuxedo Hat? Or Tuxedo Kamen?"

"I like that. Tuxedo Kamen."

"What's that?" Sailormercury pointed, frowning.

Ahead of them, the buses waited. Partially. The back half of the near bus was hanging over an empty void. He could see tread marks where the former 'near' bus had slid off and into the void. Even as they watched, the tread marks vanished into the odd grey ground.

"This place is falling apart." Sailormercury breathed. "We have to get out of here. Fast."

000

_I__don__'__t__want__to__die-__I__want__to__live!__I__want__to__win!_

The golden laser arced down, too fast to follow.

It vanished into nothing mere inches away from Rei's violet eyes.

Red.

Crimson energy, like flames, surrounded her.

She burned, but was not consumed.

The dark senshi backed away, confused. Rei climbed to her feet, burning brightly. She could feel the fire in her soul awakening. She saw, like a confused art film, flashing images, pieces of her past and her memories. A past she didn't know she'd had, all fragments. There was a white castle, a silver queen, a golden princess, and always, she was there, all in red, the flame that never dies.

The words were waiting for her to speak them.

"Mars Power, Make-up!"

000

Jadeite was experiencing a very odd sensation. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't just destroy the annoying child; there were too many witnesses. That would create precisely the kind of incident he was trying to avoid, and probably summon Sailormoon down upon his head.

That, he emphatically did not want.

Jadeite wasn't used to problems he couldn't solve with the precise application of carefully-calculated violence. Not anymore. He dimly remembered a life before this one, fuzzy events in the back of his mind, things he wasn't sure were even real. It plagued his dreams and sometimes his waking moments, more so now than it had for a long time.

She was still wailing. How much lungpower did this girl have?

"Please, stop crying." Jadeite managed, trying to placate the girl.

She just kept on. He was _bad_ at this. Awkwardly, Jadeite leaned forward and patted her shoulder. "It's going to be okay…"

"Waaaaaaaaahhh."

"Er… crying isn't going to help, please just-"

"Waaaaaaaaahhh."

"Stop this useless noise or- or-"

"WAAAAAAAHHH!"

Nothing was working. It was like dealing with an infant or a barking dog. He just wasn't able to communicate.

"Fine! I'm leaving!" Jadeite turned to walk away. The girl tackled him hard from behind, arms wrapping round his torso. "Ah! Unhand me, you useless chit!" He wobbled on his feet and fell over, striking his head on the concrete.

The girl had stopped crying. She was sitting on him.

"Get off of me!"

"No." He couldn't see her, but it sounded like she was smiling. Then, something struck his temple. He slept.

000

Everything looked sharper. The mist was beginning to fade. Sailormars faced her adversary, smiling sharply. She could feel the fire running in her veins, waiting to be called out.

Then she remembered. It was like being struck in the face with a ball of ice and snow. Those blue eyes, behind that red mask- she'd seen them before. In her past.

"Venus?" Mars breathed, holding her hands before her. The dark senshi laughed cruelly.

"No longer. I am Dark Venus now, warrior of love and pain."

The laser strike was like white lightning. Mars dodged, then screamed as it cut through her thigh. A tiny, perfect hole, blazing with agony.

"Venus, please! This is not you!" Dark Venus just smirked, not replying. She struck again, a kick that launched Mars several yards through the air. She landed with a wet thud.

Venus walked towards Mars slowly, golden energy gathering around her hands. She was going to strike again, and this time, the power of Mars would not save its princess.

Then.

The rose.

Red, striking.

It stood, quivering, in the ground at her feet, halting Venus's advance. She frowned at it for a moment, and started to walk around it.

"Stop! The fire that inspires passion in the hearts of young women should never be extinguished! I will fight to give fuel to that fire!" A young man in a mask and a tuxedo jumped down in front of Dark Venus, seemingly out of nowhere.

"How many of you _are_ there?" Dark Venus demanded in exasperation. "It's like how too many cooks spill the soup!" She flung the golden energy at Tuxedo Kamen. It scattered harmlessly as he spun his can to shield himself.

"I _will_ kill you if you stand in my way!" She shouted, charging. He struck with the cane, flinging her aside.

"I will die to protect my princess." He answered.

Mars, meanwhile, was trying to get back to her feet. Mercury appeared at her side, helping her. The two senshi staggered forwards, working against the pain of their wounds.

Dark Venus saw them coming, and hissed in annoyance.

"I'll kill you another time, then." She snarled, and raising her hands, clapped them together. She vanished in a swirl of black and gold.

"We have to get out of here- this place is collapsing!" Mercury exclaimed, as the two senshi reached Tuxedo Kamen.

He smiled at her. "It's okay, little blue girl. The dream is over."

Then he collapsed.

Mercury dropped down next to him, alarmed. Mars fell with her, still clutching her arm. Mercury placed a hand on his arm.

He flickered, and vanished.

The world swirled around them.

Everything spun, warped, settled.

They were sitting on the floor of a small apartment, and Mercury was holding the arm of a young man, no mask in sight, dressed ordinary street clothes.

000

"Please, forgive me?" Dark Venus simpered, one hand on his arm. "They were too many; three against my one, and the pocket was folding away."

"How could I do otherwise, my golden lily?" He answered, brushing her hair away from her face. "It was not your fault. Your strength is not yet recovered. We will give you instruction, hone your skills. We will make you stronger than their strongest." He smiled, a cruel light in his eyes.

"I will kill them all, for you." She promised, smiling as she leaned in for a kiss. She giggled, the light laugh at odds with her words.

"I expect nothing less, my delightful poison." Their lips met.

"I love you, Kunzite." She tangled her hands in his long white hair.

"And I you." He laughed then, long and low and deep.

000

000

000

Brief reminder: Author's notes are posted on my profile- there's a little something extra there this time… you should check it out. :) Oh, and review. You should definitely be sure to review. XD


	6. The Smell of Dust After Rain

After the End

Chapter 5: The Smell of Dust After Rain

1992

Tokyo

His head _hurt_. Mamoru sat up groggily. The room did a lively tap number, with castanets and a lot of nausea. He almost fell over, and he wasn't even all the way to sitting yet. He didn't remember going out last night, and yet… his eyes felt like they'd been rolled in a pile of glass shards. He was pretty sure his tongue was growing a coat of fur. He felt worse than he'd felt after his first post-examinations party.

What had he done?

And why did he remember a dream about buses- and girls in short skirts with super powers?

"Did I- Did I fall asleep watching anime and drinking rum? Again?"

000

"What do we know?" Serenity asked. She was seated on the _tatami_ in Rei's room. Since the young priestess had the largest and quietest living quarters of the three of them, it was a natural space to meet and talk. The three girls had taken to convening at _Hikawa Jinja_ after their respective schools let out. Sometimes they would discuss strategy, sometimes they would simply talk. Today was a strategy day. It had been a full three weeks since the near-disaster of the pocket dimension.

"We know that one of our number has been turned against us. We know that there remains one other of us whom we must find. We know that we can and we will rescue Princess Venus."

"How?" Rei asked. "We don't even know where she went."

"She went to the Dark Kingdom." Luna said.

"Then we must find them." Ami said quietly, but with a firm resolve.

"What do we have?" Serenity asked. "How can we use our resources to get what we want?"

"We have our powers." Ami said. "We can stop any single creature of theirs." She smiled. "Thanks to the training you and Luna designed for us, I think I might even be able to stop one by myself."

That had been a good idea. Terrified by her mistake, Serenity had insisted that Ami and Rei both spend a few hours every day working on their powers and their combat skills. The girls had all joined athletic clubs to strengthen themselves, and met before and after school with their clubs. Then, after school and their meetings, once it was fully dark, the senshi would transform and take to the roofs, practicing their skills where no one would see them. Ami had become much better at dodging and running since she started taking track. Rei had picked up archery and fencing, trying to out-do Serenity, who had taken track as well and a judo class. They were all trying so hard, taking everything so seriously.

Serenity worried sometimes that she was making them learn too much, too fast- but she didn't dare stop. The enemy had the advantage over them until they could get through to Venus, and before they could do that, they would probably have to defeat her in combat.

"What else do we have?" Serenity asked.

"We have each other." Ami said. Rei snorted.

"You sound like a magical-girl anime." She giggled.

"We _are_ a magical-girl anime!" Ami countered, sticking out her tongue.

"Well then, all we have to do is believe in each other, and the power of love and friendship, and everything will be fine!" Rei dissolved into giggles. Serenity laughed and shook her head.

"I wish it were that easy."

"Actually, it might be." Luna interjected. "Part of what fuels your powers is the strength of your hearts." The senshi fell silent.

"Wait, what does that mean, 'the strength of our hearts'?" Rei asked. "Not literally, right?" Luna shook her head.

"No, it's based on your desires and belief in each other. Part of it runs on your emotions, especially love or anger."

"Moon technology is a bit weird." Ami said.

"It's magic." Luna shrugged.

"It should still make sense." Ami said. "There's laws behind everything, right?"

"Well, yes." Luna said. "There are limits to the level of power you can draw from emotions and the other intangibles. After a point, you have to grow in skill as well as in heart."

"Wait, is this why I was able to transform without my henshin wand?" Rei asked suddenly. "I've tried since we got back, and I can't do it without the wand anymore." Luna had given her the wand once she and Ami returned to _Hikawa Jinja_.

"Yes, that's a perfect example." Luna said. "Your fear for yourself and your desire to protect Ami combined with the energy of your returning memories to allow you to transform. It takes a lot of energy to accomplish something like that. If you'd tried it at any other moment, it wouldn't have worked."

"I don't remember this, but Luna- did we need wands and brooches to transform in the 'old days', back on the moon?"

"At first you did, but after you'd had experience, no. You were much more connected to the source of your power then, though. The castles of each planet were alive back then, lit up and beautiful. They kept the path of energy open between you and your home planets." Luna looked sad for a moment before continuing. "Your henshin wands were made of pieces of those castles and jewels from your home planet. That's what allows you to transform, the link between you and your planets."

"Our planets…" Rei breathed. "We really were princesses, then." She grinned wildly. "I own Mars! Can we visit?"

000

Jadeite was furious. Mostly he was angry with himself. His failures were mounting up by the hour. Soon they would reach a dangerous level. He could not afford to lose any more fights. He had to create a plan that would bypass these senshi. He had to get around them somehow, stop them, kill them- whatever it took.

Luckily, he had the ruthless will to do any and all of these things. His first plan had been sheer brilliance. Capturing a senshi, turning her- but it hadn't worked. He could do nothing to change her. He'd been on the verge of simply killing her and letting her corpse be his challenge to the senshi leader.

_Demons and darkness take that wretch Kunzite!_ Jadeite growled to himself. If Beryl hadn't specifically ordered the four of them not to fight each other, Kunzite would be dead a dozen times already.

Of course, his success proved it was possible. Maybe all Jadeite needed was a different subject. He knew the faces of the senshi. He even knew where one of them lived. Or- no, there was an even easier way. He chuckled now. This was splendid! What better way to strike, then at someone who would never see it coming?

A senshi who didn't know who she was…

000

Kino Makoto had a daub of rice flour on the side of her face. She had just put her dumplings into the steamer and was busy preparing her vegetables. Tiny star-shaped cutouts of carrots and cucumber were already sitting neatly in her bento box. She just had a few more to do. Makoto positioned the tiny vegetable slice under the star-shaped cutter and pressed down hard.

Perfect.

She'd been making her own lunches for years now, ever since the crash that killed her parents. She had the process down to what was almost a science. It was one of her little contradictions. She was a big, independent girl, taller than most boys, and known for picking fights. She was held in a strange combination of fear and awe by most of the other students. They saw what she'd dubbed Outer Makoto.

Inner Mako-chan was different. Mako-chan at home would make lunches with the girliest of domestic touches. Mako-chan liked to cook best of all, but she also prided herself in her great housekeeping skills. Her tiny apartment was spotless and decorated with cheerful flowers.

Outer Makoto was getting a bad reputation for violence at school, but the truth was she wasn't just striking out irrationally. She was picking fights with those who, in her mind, deserved retribution. Makoto hadn't always been this strong. She'd been young when she lost her parents. She'd had no one to protect her, just the impersonal system that cared for orphans. She'd spent a lot of time crying. Then Sempai had come along. Sempai had helped her to become strong. He'd protected her. Sempai was her idol. In a way, he was part of her. Makoto acted the way she did because of Sempai. She stood up for younger kids because of the way Sempai stood up for her. She'd been lectured and detained for it more times than she could count.

The phone rang. She picked it up.

"Moshi-moshi?" She listened for a moment, her face growing darker and darker. "I see. Thank you. Goodbye."

The phone struck the reciever with more force than was usually acceptable, just as she'd struck Sato-san with her heavy English book. Too bad Sato-san's father had decided to get involved this time.

She'd just been expelled.

000

Uniforms were expensive. Makoto looked at the proffered Juuban Gakuen fuku and raised an eyebrow. "I really don't think that's my size. She said, holding it up to herself. The tan skirt of her old fuku was a good six inches longer. She could tell just by looking that the sleeves would be too short and the blouse would be far too snug.

"That's the biggest size we have right now," answered Haruna, the teacher she'd been assigned to for 'orientation', "so there's not much we can really do…"

"I guess I can just keep wearing this one." Makoto said, gesturing to her tan fuku. "At least, until one can be ordered for me."

"We'll see if that becomes necessary." Haruna replied. "If you've been expelled once, I think we're going to be careful how much we invest in you. No offense; it just pays to be cautious." No offense, right. Makoto snorted, but didn't reply. No offense was only ever said to temper something obviously offensive. Saying 'no offense' didn't make it any better; it just highlighted the offense.

"It's nearly time for school to begin, in any case." Makoto said, giving Haruna-sensei the opportunity to change the subject if she wished. It seemed she did. After a hurried, excuse, Haruna left Makoto alone in the room.

Makoto sighed. It wasn't easy, being taller than everyone else. Shorter people tended to feel intimidated by her, even when she didn't intend to intimidate them. It made it hard to befriend anyone when they were too scared to speak. She straightened her uniform skirt and walked out. It took only a few moments to reach the school grounds. She had a little time before the beginning of class. She would walk around the block, clear her head a little. Try to.

She walked. Students were already arriving, of course, dressed in blue and white _fuku_ with large red bows. Cheerful and chatting, laughing, walking together. Makoto walked by herself. A few of them looked up as she passed. Their curiosity was obvious, but none of them spoke to her. None of them would. This new school would be just like her old one. They would never speak to her- and she did not know how to speak to them.

The school lay behind her after a few moments. Empty sidewalk before her. Most students would be inside already. She could simply think, without interruption. She leaned on a low wall and let out a long breath. She had about thirty seconds of quiet, just enough to get used to it. Then the sounds of the scuffle reached her ears.

It was three on one. Three big ugly future mooks, delinquent thugs who were ninety percent body and ten percent brain. Makoto snorted. She'd dealt with this sort before. The three were ganging up on a tiny blonde girl with a choppy haircut and -_My initial count was off-_ her equally petite blue-haired friend.

The triple threat was just warming up with their verbal assault before getting to the physical attack. Makoto didn't wait for them to get started. She dove in from the side, starting with a swift, sharp knee to the midsection of the nearest brute. He went down, the air expelled from his lungs, and stayed down, gasping, as Makoto swiveled and punched, clocking the second brute with a quick snap kick to the jaw. She planted both feet and threw a punch, but the third brute was faster than his friends, and dodged, returning fire. Makoto twisted just enough that the blow went past her face, and grabbed the following arm, pulling along the path of the blow with both hands. She followed him to the ground and landed in his gut with her right elbow. Done.

The entire fight had taken less than fifteen seconds. Makoto straightened, lifting a hand to straighten her hair. "You two okay?"

000

Jadeite was quite pleased with himself. Bribing Zoicite had been far simpler than he'd predicted. He'd forgotten to factor in the blonde man's capacity for jealousy, sulking, and petty vengeance. The slim red jewel he held in one gloved hand was the result of the afternoon's fruitful labor. He'd traded a few of his leftover humans he'd been saving, but he'd expected to pay far more for so specialized a device.

The humans had been far more valuable during the hungry years. It had been a thousand years of surviving on what scraps they could glean from the meager cache of slaves and frequently, from each other. Jadeite had been known for his frugality, surviving only on the emotional energy of his stockpiled humans, making each one last until their life was almost expended. The day the first crack appeared in the seal of their prison, he'd eaten three of them, devouring all of their energy until nothing remained. It had been a feast he would long remember.

This crystal would easily earn him another such feast. Zoicite has crafted it from a piece of the Jupetrian castle, Io. It was attuned to the princess of Jupiter. If she were anywhere on Earth, the crystal would respond, leading him directly to her. It was the simplest plan he'd had yet. Jadeite smirked to himself. Perhaps he wouldn't even turn her. Perhaps he'd simply feed on her energy, slaying her. Take away all hope for the tattered shreds of the Silver Millenium. Make them wait another thousand years for the stars to be right. Let them know the sting of hunger.

Jadeite opened a path to Earth and stepped through.

000

"Jupiter." Serenity couldn't stop the single word from escaping her. This was unanticipated.

"What?" Makoto asked, confused. "Juptaa?"

"I mean, um, thank you." Serenity fumbled. "That was… thank you."

Ami was just staring. Serenity nudged her. Ami blushed, recovering her wits.

"I thank you as well." She said, bowing slightly. Always so polite. "Your skills are formidable." She straightened. "I'm Mizuno Ami, and my friend is Tsukino Usagi. We attend Juuban Gauken."

Makoto returned the courtesy. "I'm Kino Makoto- I just transferred to your school from Sanmori Gauken. This is my first day."

"I hope we will see you again in class then." Serenity said, smiling. "Perhaps we could share lunch, as a thank-you?" Assuming she didn't give in to her teenage appetite and eat it again.

"I'd like that." Makoto smiled.

000

"Wow, that's delicious!"

"Oh, may I please try some of the _maki_?"

"Help yourself! Just let me have one of your _onigiri!"_

"Mmmmmmm…."

"_Oishii desu ne!" _

"Om nomnomnom"

000

Best day ever. Makoto smiled, full of food. It wasn't even over yet, but hopefully it would continue to be this good. She didn't even bother trying to squash the optimistic sensation. These two girls weren't afraid of her, even after watching her administer a beat-down that had terrified the staff at Sanmori. They liked her food, and they liked her. They had witnessed Outer Makoto's expression of rage and accepted it, and they had been happy to share Inner Makoto's expression of generosity. Was it just Juuban? Was everyone here the same? Or perhaps it was Sanmori where everyone had been the same, and here everyone was simply more relaxed.

"Ne ne, Usagi-chan!" A girl with curly red hair called. "Have you heard? There was another incident last night."

"Oh, that superhero?" Tsukino-san asked, turning slightly. "Yeah, Naru-chan, it was on the radio this morning." She smiled. "Sailormoon was seen at a carnival, right?"

"Sailormoon?" Makoto asked, confused.

"Hadn't you heard?" 'Naru-chan' asked, "we've got our very own super-hero here, just like Sailor V-chan!"

"Oh, Kino-san, this is Osaka Naru-chan. Naru-chan, this is Kino Makoto-san. She just transferred here from Sanmori Gauken." Tsukino-san explained. "So maybe you haven't heard about Sailormoon?" She asked, turning back to Makoto as Osaka-san took a seat.

"Like Sailor V-chan, huh?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, but they say Sailormoon has a whole team now. Everytime she appears she has another friend." Naru explained.

"She does?" Tsukino-san asked.

"Yeah, there's three of them now." Naru said. "I heard the newest one is Sailormars."

"So they're named after the planets?" Makoto asked. Something was funny about that, but she couldn't quite decide what.

"There's Sailormoon, Sailormercury, and now Sailormars." Tsukino-san said. "They fight against evil."

"Evil?" Makoto asked.

"There have been some strange incidents around here." Tsukino-san explained, and proceeded to tell her about how, before Sailormoon appeared, people had been found drained of their life-force, dead or nearly so. She got about halfway into her explanation, when Osaka-san jumped in to tell the story of how she and her mother had been rescued from nearly certain death in Sailormoon's first appearance.

"Wow." Makoto said, stunned. Maybe Juuban had more to worry about then just one giant schoolgirl with mildly violent tendencies. If this kind of thing was happening, she wasn't going to be that interesting by comparison.

000

It had been several hours since the tear in the universe closed. The human universe was filled with human smells, human sights, and human noise. Human chatter, human machines clacking and beeping, and the infernal human music. What they called music, Jadeite could easily have bested by recording the screams of the so-called artists as he tortured them. That would be an amusing diversion.

Jadeite had almost forgotten why he was wandering the streets of Tokyo when he felt the reaction from the crystal. His hand had cramped up. His stiff fingers protested as he unwound them enough to see the blackish spindle light up with a mote of pale green. He held it up, pointing it this way and that, to see where the light grew greener and brighter.

After a few moments of uncertainty, Jadeite found the trail. The light grew stronger as he walked, and then ran. It soon seemed as though he held a fistful of green radiance, and no crystal at all.

He came upon a school. The gates had just opened, letting the students out at the close of day. Dozens of schoolgirls passed him, walking and talking. Human chatter, human problems, and the very human giggling of teenage girls. Jadeite ground his teeth and waited, holding his hands around the crystal to hide the glow.

A tall girl passed through the gates. Everything about her marked her out as different from the rest. Her uniform was the wrong cut and color, out of place among a sea of blue and red. She stood several inches taller than the other girls, and most of the boys. There was a difference in her face as well. Unlike the others, she wasn't laughing and chatting. She seemed preoccupied with some ponderous mental puzzle.

The crystal he held pulsed. The green glow shone through his fingers. It was nearly blinding.

Jadeite pocketed the crystal. He needed it no longer. He followed the girl, moving from rooftop to rooftop until she was alone. He crouched, watching, waiting for the perfect moment. The streets were nearly clear.

"Kino-san!"

Jadeite swore as a girl came running up to his target. Her choppy blonde hair swung loosely through his mind, provoking a recollection.

He knew this girl.

"_You're going to leave me here? All alone? I don't- I can't-"_

"_Whaaaaaaaaaaaa-!" _

He _hated_ this girl.

Jadeite flung his careful plan aside. He would kill the blonde, and then take the Princess of Jupiter. It would be easy. He would be rewarded, that was certain.

He gathered energy in one hand, and swept his hand forward, flinging it at the blonde girl.

000

"I almost didn't catch you in time." Tsukino-san laughed as she slowed her steps to keep pace with Makoto.

"What is it, Tsukino-san?"

"Well, Ami-chan and I were going to go and meet our other friend, Rei-chan after school and I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come along."

"Come along?"

_Hang out? Like, if we were friends? _There was nothing that could have made her more surprised or delighted. A girl, a normal girl, wanted to be normal friends with her.

That was when Makoto saw the bright white glow in the sky. A bolt of white light arcing from the roof of a nearby building. Heading for Tsukino-san.

She dove without thinking, tackling the blonde girl.

The sound of the bolt flashing past her ear was like the roar of a jet, or the wind of a passing hurricane. Makoto's ears rang as she and Tsukino-san rolled across the pavement. Makoto came up in a half-crouch.

"What the hell?" She saw Tsukino-san already standing, adopting a surprisingly competent-looking battle stance.

"Jadeite." Tsukino-san hissed.

_What? _

"What?"

A man in a grey uniform leapt down in front of them. He wore a cruel smile. "Hello, Princess Jupiter."

"You can't have her." Tsukino-san growled. "Not this time."

"I can have what I want, little girl. You are merely an annoyance to me." He dismissed her with a flick of his hand.

_You can't have her_

_ Not before you go through us_

_ That won't be a problem. Not this time. _

_ Run, Princess! _

Makoto shook her head. This was no time for woolgathering. A super-powered psycopath was attacking them. And after her personally, apparently.

"Tsukino-san, what's going on?"

"I'll explain later. For now, run." Tsukino-san attacked, striking with a swift storm of punches. Makoto just stared, then remembered she was supposed to run.

_I cannot abandon you! _

_ Then we all die! Run!_

"Not this time!" Makoto shouted, and attacked.

As she dove into the fight, Jadeite threw Tsukino-san aside. With inhuman speed, he spun back to face Makoto. He grabbed her punching arm and pulled her into his grip, pinning her arms. One arm restrained her, and the other hand began to glow with deadly white-hot energy.

"Release her!" Tsukino-san snapped. She stood too far away to intervene before Jadeite could release the energy bolt.

"Oh, I think not, little one."

"I am no child, Jadeite." Tsukino-san drew herself up. A stray wind whipped her choppy blonde hair around her face. "I am the Daughter of the White Moon, the Defender of peace and of hope. I am the hands that stops the tide of shadows, the torch that burns despite the storm." She raised one hand to the simple brooch at the collar of her fuku.

"It can't be…"

"I am the champion of Love and Justice- Sailormoon!"

"No freaking way." Makoto breathed.

"Moon Prism Power- MAKE UP!"

As the light show surrounded Tsukino-san, Makoto couldn't stop a simple stray thought from writing itself across her eyes in lines of blue lightning. Jadeite was still holding a ball of molten energy two inches away from her face. If he decided to kill her, Sailormoon wouldn't be able to stop him, no matter how fast she was.

_I am going to die anyway. Nothing can stop it._

000

Notes on this chapter can be found on my profile page. Old notes are zapped when new ones go up.

Questions? Comments? Cookie recipies? Review!


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